VISIT – As part of his visit to the United States, Romania’s
\nDefense Minister, Angel T\u00eelv\u0103r,
\nmet with representatives of American research and analysis institutes
\nspecializing in the field of security. According to a press release published
\nby the Defense Ministry, the meeting tackled the status and prospects of the
\nwar in Ukraine, NATO’s response in support of Ukraine, as well as lessons
\nlearned and ways of strengthening Allied support for this country. Moreover,
\nthe meeting also highlighted the decisions of the NATO Summit in Madrid and
\ntheir implementation. During his visit to the US, Minister T\u00eelv\u0103r underscored in his meetings with American
\nofficials the benefits of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the
\nUSA. On March 30, Angel T\u00eelv\u0103r
\nmet with Cara Abercrombie, coordinator for defense policy and arms control for
\nthe White House National Security Council. On March 31, the Romanian official
\nmet with Gina Ortiz Jones, Assistant Secretary of the US Air Forces. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
NATO – Mircea Geoan\u0103’s
\nterm as deputy NATO Secretary General has been extended by another year until
\nOctober 2024. Secretary General Jens Stolotenberg has thanked the Romanian
\nofficial, arguing Mircea Geoan\u0103 has
\nbeen remarkable as his deputy, supporting him personally during a critical time
\nfor Euro-Atlantic security. In a Facebook post, Mircea Geoan\u0103 said the decision is an encourangement to all
\nRomanians to aim high, as well as a chance for Romania to take advantage of the
\nstrategic opportunities offered by the latest geopolitical developments. On the
\nother hand, according to the British publication The Sun, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is
\nexpected to submit her candidacy to become the next NATO Secretary General,
\nconsidering Jens Stoltenberg’s term will end in October, after having
\nbeen extended three times. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, as well as Great
\nBritain’s Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace, are reportedly also on the candidate
\nlist. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
RRF – The European Commission has so far disbursed \u20ac150 billion to
\nMember States as part of its Recovery and Resilience Facility in the two years
\nsince it was launched. The funds were earmarked for reforms and investments in
\nbeneficiary states. To increase the transparency of RRF funds, this week the
\nCommission launched an online interactive map tracking projects actively funded
\nunder this mechanism. 10 out of the total of 350 projects listed on the map are
\nin Romania, including the National Forestation Plan, the construction of the A7
\nmotorway linking Ploie\u0219ti (south) to
\nPa\u0219cani (east) or the modernization of the railway linking Cluj to
\nOradea (northwest). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
INCIDENT
\n– The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced that Canadian authorities
\nare still to confirm the citizenship of eight people who died while trying to
\ncross illegally into the United States from Canada. Their bodies were
\ndiscovered in a marshy area of St. Lawrence River, which forms part of the
\nCanada-US border, the local authorities have announced. Another person, thought
\nto have operated the boat transporting the people, is still missing. The
\nMinistry’s announcement follows an earlier report by the media saying that one
\nof the two families was of Romanian origin. US President Joe Biden and Canada’s
\nPrime Minister Justin Trudeau last week agreed to turn people back who
\nrequested asylum at official crossing points along the border. Local police
\nsays the decision did not affect the tragedy of the two families, as they were
\ntrying to enter the United States, not Canada. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
UNSC PRESIDENCY – Andriy Yermak, the
\nUkrainian president’s chief of staff, on Saturday posted a message on Twitter
\ndescribing Russia taking over the presidency of the UN Security Council as a
\nsymbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations. The presidency of the Council is held by each
\nof the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order
\nof the Member States names. In April, the Russian delegation will take charge
\nof managing the Council’s agenda and presiding its meetings. One of the main
\nbenefits is that the presidency can hold special sessions focusing on topics it
\ndeems of special interest, often in the presence of certain government members.
\nThe last time Moscow held this position was in February 2022, when its troops
\nlaunched the large-scale war of aggression in Ukraine. On Friday, the Kremlin
\nannounced it intends to make full use of every prerogatives conveyed by the UN
\nSecurity Council presidency. Seeing Russia at the helm of the most important UN
\nbody is a bad joke, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has commented.
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n